


At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)

by daltonacademyfightclub



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Could Be Canon, Danny is a Perfect Person, Isaac Feels, Jackson is a Good Guy, M/M, POV Isaac, The World Will Never Know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-17
Updated: 2013-10-08
Packaged: 2017-12-26 21:03:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/970264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daltonacademyfightclub/pseuds/daltonacademyfightclub
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isaac Lahey has a bad habit of pining after things he knows he won't get: a better life, cooler clothes, his brother back, and Danny Mahealani. Fortunately for him, getting one of those things is easier than he thinks. </p><p>Title is from the Fun. song of the same name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Should've Seen Me a Couple of Years Ago

The first time Isaac saw Danny, he was fourteen and a half, silent, and trying out for the Beacon Hills lacrosse team. Danny was fourteen and something, amicable, and also trying out.

He was coming out as well.

Jackson Whittemore was a pillar of strength in the Beacon Hills Elementary, Middle, and soon-to-be High School social hierarchy, and he had latched onto Danny at lunch on the first day of school. “Hey, new kid!” Jackson had called as Danny was walking out of the lunch line, tray with milk carton and rectangular pizza in tow. Rumor had it that Danny was from the Silicon Valley, and the wealthy stigma associated with the valley was good enough for Jackson, his girlfriend Lydia Martin, and the rest of their clique. “Come sit with us.”

The two were instantly inseparable. Danny acted as a morality chain for his new best friend, reigning him in from his douchebaggery that seemed to crop up more and more as his popularity grew. Jackson acted as a superior guide, saving Danny from new-kid isolation (and from some spotty kid who called himself “Stiles” after a particularly harrowing first day of roll call). Together, they were a match made in bromance heaven.

Most of the guys were still in the locker room (Isaac and spotty Stiles included) when the subject arose. Jackson had decided that to keep Danny up with him socially (as if lacrosse, BHHS’ most acclaimed sport wasn’t enough), he needed a girlfriend.

“Anyone you got your eye on?” Jackson asked as he stripped out of his eighty-dollar Calvin Klein Performance tracksuit next to his best fried. “You and her can double-date with me and Lyds.”

“Actually, uh…” Danny trailed off, blush crossing over his cheeks as he hesitantly whispered in Jackson’s ear.

“You’re _gay_?!” Jackson blurted, drawing the attention of the whole locker room, Isaac included. Danny tucked his head, cheeks even darker, as Jackson glared around at those in the freshman class defensively. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” he clarified, daring anyone to say one word about it. “We’ll find you a nice guy.”

When Danny looked back up to gauge reactions, Isaac swore he looked at him longer than at anyone else. Like he knew.

Maybe high school would be more interesting than Isaac thought.

 

– – –

At first, Isaac thought he’d let a bruise slip. For some reason, his father hadn’t taken much care (then again, when did he ever) with placement of his blows lately and Isaac had opted to wear long sleeves in August so as not to draw attention to himself. As usual.

Maybe Danny had just thought that he’d have been wearing short sleeves like everyone else. Couldn’t blame him – Danny seemed perfectly normal… well, aside from some FBI hacking deal Isaac had overheard Stiles babbling about during biology class. Something about Danny going all Wade from _Kim Possible_ and threatening the Pentagon or something like that. It impressed his friend Scott McCall, at least. “Dude,” Scott said hoarsely after getting so worked up that he needed his inhaler, “what if he could hack into my mom’s Bank of America account?”

Isaac would never admit it out loud, but Jackson was right when he said Stiles and Scott were kind of dorks.

Danny quickly became something of a mental getaway for Isaac when he was at home. Even when his father hollered at him after he did something wrong, picturing Danny and his dimple-framed smile could quietly tide him for a few minutes.

It wasn’t because Danny was new, popular, and exciting, or even because of the look they had shared in the locker room – it was for the shallowest reason of them all instead. Danny was _hot_. 

Anyone with eyes could see it. Girls as old as juniors had flocked to Danny’s side before the big reveal in the locker room. Now it was just his usual clique and the occasional girl that Lydia would scare off in the space of an hour. The boy was kind of lithe, but gained more and more muscle definition as Coach’s weightlifting sessions progressed. Meanwhile, Isaac could only bench fifty in his long-sleeved shirt before he was too hot to pick anything up. He, Stiles, and Scott (who wasn’t a weakling or anything but had pretty bad asthma) spent more overtime workouts with the ten-pound hand-weights by the vending machines.

Because of Danny’s undeniable hotness and Jackson’s intervention, Danny had his first “real” boyfriend by the end of October. “The boy who I kissed during ‘7 Minutes of Heaven’ doesn’t count,” he claimed to Jackson in the locker room while the other boy helped him into his JV lacrosse goalie gear. “Just like you kissing Amy Davis and trying to get under her shirt at the same party doesn’t make you two engaged.”

“You’re still not gonna tell Lydia, right?” Jackson asked nervously as he started on his own padding. Danny shook his head no.

“Of course not.”

Two hours later, Isaac watched from the bleachers as a furious and newly-single Lydia Martin stormed off the field as Jackson chased the flail-running Stiles around, threatening his life and his “snitching, eavesdropping ass”.

 

– – –

A year passed, and feelings had not faded on Isaac’s part. Danny was on-again, off-again with his senior boyfriend, Aaron, who was applying to City College, UCLA, and Stanford when he decided that having a sophomore boyfriend just wasn’t cool anymore.

Aaron broke up with Danny in the cafeteria during their lunch period, not eliciting the crying-weepy response Aaron thought he was going to get. Heck, _Jackson_ seemed more infuriated by the senior’s decision than Danny was. Danny just replied very quietly – and much to the chagrin of their more conservative classmates – “well, you can come pick up those hot pink briefs after school, then.”

As much as Isaac wanted to sweep Danny into his arms and tell him that everything was okay, he realized that there were two things that would pretty much ensure that would never happen:

  * one, Isaac rescuing _anyone_ from _anything_ was kind of hypocritical. Especially since he had told the counselor (by his dad’s request) that the problems at home were resolved.
  * two, Danny seemed to not even know who he was. Sure, they were on the same junior varsity lacrosse team and occasionally paired up for drills, but while Danny was Isaac’s world, Isaac was just a guy who crossed paths with Danny every now and then.



So Isaac subjected himself to watching from the sidelines while Danny happily entered and left relationships that weren’t exactly serious anyway. Meanwhile, Scott and Stiles were acting kind of weird, always talking about the woods near the nature preserve and, surprising, hail. In August. Scott (albeit nervously) assured him that it was nothing, just some inside stuff the two of them were going through.

(Isaac really hoped “hail” wasn’t the new slang for crack or something, especially since Stiles’ father was the sheriff. How humiliating would _that_ be.)

Unfortunately, Isaac didn’t find many friends elsewhere. There was one girl named Erica that Isaac found one day on the way to the bathroom. She was crying when he passed right next to her, and he stopped and turned around to look at her back, speaking after a moment. “Are you okay?”

Erica turned around, wiping her eyes, “Why’s it matter to you?” she asked accusingly. She looked pretty beat-up: her hair was pulled awkwardly into a ponytail and her sweatshirt looked like she had been laying on a floor that desperately needed to be swept.

“You look a mess.” Isaac spoke before he had fully thought of a tactful way to put his thoughts together. Erica laughed a little at that, but there was very little humor in her tone. “I mean –”

“No, I know.” Erica cut him off. “Seizures don’t really care if you want to be attractive or not.” She began walking backwards while talking to him, sounding more casual as Isaac, interested, followed her lead.

“Seizures?”

“Epileptic,” Erica answered when Isaac walked at her side, pointing to herself. “Harris sent me to the nurse once I could get up and walk by myself.” She snorted. “Making me walk _alone_.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Isaac offered. He would just have to figuratively tie a knot in it to make sure the girl got to the nurse’s office okay. If something happened to her because she didn’t have a person to make sure that she didn’t seize up again, he knew he’d feel awful for a long, long time.

“I don’t need your pity,” Erica countered, looking defiant. Isaac shrugged.

“Who said I was pitying you?” The girl raised her eyebrows at him. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. These floors are hard, man.”

Erica grinned. “What’s your name?”

“Isaac Lahey.” After a pause, he included his grade level as well. “Sophomore.”

“Is your last name really ‘Lahey-Sophomore’?” Erica asked, curious.

“No, that’s my grade, tenth.”

“Oh,” Erica said, smiling a little bit at him. “Mine too.” Isaac smiled back, wondering if this was how new friends introduced themselves. “How come I never see you around?”

“I tend to blend into the background,” Isaac confessed as they walked down the main hall together.

Getting lunch detention was so worth it, especially to see Erica waving at him from across the cafeteria.

 

– – –

Being at home was Isaac’s least favorite place to be.  His older brother Camden had enlisted about a year prior, and his deployment to the Middle East only left the house lonelier and his father angrier. Both Cam and their father knew that the only reason Camden was leaving was to get away from the house, and Mr. Lahey was _not_ happy about that.

“It’s just too toxic here, Iz,” Cam had said as he watched Isaac bury himself in the covers, crying. “You know that I would get you out of here too, but I can’t.” He sat next to the trembling lump in the bed, stroking his younger brother’s back. “One tour, that’s all I need. Then you’ll be old enough for college – far enough away, of course – and we’ll be free.”

“Y-you can’t leave me,” Isaac told him softly, moving the covers away from his face and wiping his eyes. “You said you’d _do_ something!”

“I _am_ doing something,” Camden countered in the same quiet voice Isaac had used. “The army will send the paychecks back to Dad. You get the checks and cash them for half-you, half-Dad when he tells you to take them to the bank. You can get more money for college and stuff you want. When you get a girlfriend –”

“ _Cam_ ,” Isaac pushed him lightly. “I told you already –” 

“Yeah, but you _did_ say you were only gay for that Danny kid. Otherwise you still like girls.”

“Kinda.” Isaac’s response was clipped, not wanting to delve into his sexuality when there were more important topics at hand. “How long is a tour?”

“Four years.” Camden looked around the room, spotting a duffel bag in the corner that he could use when he began packing for basic training.

“That _long_?” Isaac whined, looking at his brother. “I’ll be graduating then.”

“Then you’ll have something to look forward to.” Cam smiled at him, leaning over and kissing Isaac’s cheek softly. “Cheer up, little trooper.”

Isaac brushed him off. “You know, that’s less funny now that you’re leaving.”

All Camden did was run a hand through his own loose blonde curls and shrug.


	2. Baby, Put Your Name Down on a Piece of Paper

Whatever “little secret” Stiles and Scott had, it was definitely working Scott’s way. He’d been killing it on the field lately, playing like he was gonna die if he wasn’t the best. Jackson was _mortified_ that he himself wasn’t pulling the entire team’s weight anymore and he was spending more and more time in the weight room and drinking gross protein shakes that filled the room with their smell. Isaac overheard Danny complaining to a boy named Brian who played the alto saxophone in band that he would have been more prepared for the sudden trumpet exam in class had it not been for Jackson coming over the night before to complain about lacrosse and smelling of raw egg and whey. (Isaac made a mental note to avoid those shakes on the off chance that he would ever be at Danny’s house.)

Erica giggled that afternoon when Isaac told her about his eavesdropping, saying that that was a sign that Danny didn’t necessarily _need_ his boyfriend to wear cologne like Isaac’d thought before. Isaac told her to shut up very politely.

“I need to know what McCall’s juice is,” he heard Jackson complain in the locker room after a particularly harrowing practice while he – Jackson, not Isaac – guzzled down some homemade power smoothie from a plastic water bottle. “Maybe he’s getting his mom to sneak steroid cream out of the hospital!” Jackson slammed his locker door shut triumphantly, positively giddy with excitement and assurance he was right.

Danny rolled his eyes from where he was at the door. He hitched his duffel bag further up on his shoulder while he waited for his best friend to pull himself together. “Mrs. McCall wouldn’t do that,” the boy said. “She’s super nice. Remember when my mom had to go to the hospital to get her appendix taken out?”

“Yeah?” Jackson answered from in between the lockers.

“She came over to my house and watched me and my sister until she had to take us with her to her shift. She even made me and Amy pizza bagels with extra cheese.”

“So?” Jackson sounded indifferent. Danny always got snacks at his house.

“So – she’s super great. And I bet that she wouldn’t let Scott do that. That’s just not like her.” Danny caught Isaac’s eye, smiling slightly when he realized that Isaac was listening. “Hey. Isaac, right?”

Isaac went stock-still. Danny, he… he knew his _name_. “Yeah,” Isaac replied breathlessly, toying with his sweater sleeves anxiously while his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. “We have lunch together.”

(Granted, there were only two lunch periods available to sophomores at Beacon Hills High, but it was still a big deal to Isaac.)

“We’re also on the team together,” Danny continued patiently, smile still on his face. “You play second-string offense.”

“And you’re first-string goalie.” _And your eyes twinkle when you smile. And your abs are coming in nicely; I couldn’t help but notice. And I may have buried my head in the pillow last night to keep quiet while I pictured you –_

“And I’m leaving,” Jackson announced from where he had appeared next to Danny at the door. “Later, Lahey.”

“Bye, Isaac,” Danny said sweetly as he followed Jackson out of the locker room to the main hallway. Isaac was pretty sure he died on the spot and went straight to heaven.

– – –

That night, Isaac signed into Skype at half-past nine. He saw that Erica was online but had the “busy” color on her icon next to her name, which meant that she was attempting to do homework without distraction and Isaac should leave her alone for the time being. Normally, he’d get off then to avoid a possible conflict with his dad – strangely, his dad was alright with Isaac talking to Erica and Erica only at night on Skype, unless it got too loud – but he saw that the “LAX Team” group was lit up for “online” green.

He clicked on the group and saw that Jackson, Danny, Scott, $tiles (dollar-sign included), and one of the student managers for the team was on at the moment. He figured that the first two were talking to each other, the second two were in a video call, and the last boy could be talking to either or neither group. While he was contemplating clicking on Scott’s name, a call request from “Jackson, Danny” popped up on his screen.

Oh, _crap_.

He wasn’t exactly oblivious to the idea of cyberbullying (or bullying in general), and it honestly wouldn’t surprised him if Jackson would call just to “check up” out of the blue on him, or even came forward brutally direct and asked him what was up with him and Danny. If Erica said everyone could see it, then one of the most popular boys in school _had_ to have some inkling about a nobody having a crush on his best friend. (Though, he had to admit – who _wouldn’t_ have a crush on Danny?)

Isaac had a feeling that Jackson wouldn’t act up tonight, though. Not with Danny there. Tentatively, he clicked the answer button, bracing himself for whatever would come his way.

Apparently Isaac hadn’t gotten the memo – both Jackson and Danny were on video, wearing what appeared to be matching tank tops with some lacrosse brand’s insignia printed across the left chest. Jackson was toying idly with something on his desk, while Danny waved at the new arrival. “Hi, Isaac! I was a little worried you weren’t going to pick up there.”

“Danny’s been meaning to talk to you,” his best friend added dryly, glancing up at the screen for a second. “He forgot to ask you something after practice.”

“ _No_ , you ran us out of there, Jacks,” Danny clarified with a smile that Isaac hoped was directed toward him. “I didn’t get a chance to ask him ‘cause of you.”

“Ask me what?” Isaac asked, feeling his heart rise up in his throat. _Maybe Danny was going to –_

“You wanna be lab partners?” Danny said quickly, snapping Isaac’s fantasy in half like a toothpick. “Mr. Harris said that Devon is being pushed down into the remedial track and I can pick whoever I want to be my new partner. That is, if they say yes.”

“So whaddaya say?” Jackson put in, still busying himself elsewhere. It was obvious to Isaac by now that adding him to the call was strictly Danny’s idea.

“Why me?” was all Isaac could muster out, still terribly confused but kind of flattered.

“I’ve seen your test scores,” Danny answered simply. “You’re great.”

_“You’re great.” Danny thinks I’m GREAT! But how did he get my scores?_

“How did you get my scores?” Isaac repeated out loud, feeling kind of exposed.

“He hacked into the chemistry team’s shared doc for the state benchmarks. You were a point away from Stilinski and six from Lydia.” Jackson looked pleased as punch to have a girlfriend who is practically a genius as he spoke. “And Lydia got a perfect score.”

“ _And_ –” Danny decided to get back to Isaac, “that means you’re super smart yourself. Stiles is devoted to Scott, so asking him would be futile.”

Jackson wrinkled his nose. “Futile?”

“Pointless. It’s an SAT word.” Isaac couldn’t believed that he was explaining something to Jackson Whittemore of all people.

“Right.” Danny gave Isaac a toothy grin. “So please, Isaac? I’m sure Erica will be able to work with someone else. Maybe she can join a group of three or something.” He paused for a second. “Hey, by the way, I’ve been meaning to ask this too: is Erica your girlfriend or something?” At that, Jackson looked more interested. Who was dating who was always interesting, no matter what high school social caste.

“No, we’re just good friends.” Isaac couldn’t count on his fingers _and_ toes how many times he’d told that to people. Jackson didn’t seem to believe him, though, as he heard a barely-muffled “yeah, right” when the figure ducked out of view for a second.

“Cool, cool… so does that mean you’re saying yes?” Danny leaned forward, obviously intent on getting a straight answer. “Will you be my lab partner?”

“Jesus Christ, Danny, it sounds like you’re proposing to the guy,” Jackson said with a snort.

Isaac nodded, hoping that Erica would understand. “Of course. When do we start?”

– – –

Danny wrote out a note to Isaac the next day and handed it to him just as Chemistry started.

 _You wanna study over at my place?_ Danny had written neatly on the slip of paper. _I could come up with a schedule between your house and my house, if you want._

Isaac felt himself go a little red, even though the note wasn’t even close to a proposition. It seemed like once a week before Danny had asked him to be his lab partner, Isaac had fantasized about Danny bringing him back to his house with a smile, telling him that if he wanted, Isaac could stay forever and ever with the Mahealanis, and every time that he offered, Isaac said _of course, of course_ , and the two of them lived happily ever after.

Now, Danny, had offered him over for studying, and even though it wasn’t much (or even part) of a “happily ever after”, Isaac couldn’t help but feel like his dreams were kind of coming true.

 _I’d love to come over today,_ Isaac scrawled back on the same sheet. _I’ll call my dad at lunch and we can figure something out._ He slid the sheet back to Danny, not making much eye contact out of fear that he’d start blushing again. That didn’t last for long, though, as Danny slung an arm around Isaac’s shoulders when the final bell rang.

“I can’t _wait_ for you to help me out, Isaac,” Danny said, bumping Isaac’s side lightly with a grin. The other boy failed to stop a blush from crossing his cheeks this time, fretting a little inside.

 _Sure, he could help Danny,_ he mused internally, _but he could barely help himself._

– – –

Isaac loathed calling his dad during the day. He didn’t get in trouble for doing so because he had to call his father’s work phone (and therefore he had to control his temper), but when it was an inconvenience and Mr. Lahey had to come to the school for one reason or another, then it became an issue later on that night.

However, Isaac had never invited a friend over or been over at a friend’s house for an extended period of time before – not even Erica’s place. His brother had mixed results from doing it, though. But this was for school, and Isaac’s dad and Danny had met briefly at the sports banquet, so it shouldn’t be a big problem, right?

He borrowed Erica’s cell phone during his lunch period and excused himself to the hallway to make the call. Before she had died, Isaac’s mom had made sure that both her sons knew the three most important phone numbers in their lives: the family’s home phone, Mr. Lahey’s extension at White’s Lawn and Garden, and 911. It was around Mr. Lahey’s lunchtime too, so he knew as he dialed the number for the office that he’d likely get an answer in some way, shape, or form. Sure enough, Isaac’s dad picked up on the second ring. “White’s Lawn and Garden; Robert Lahey speaking.”

“Uh-um… hey, dad.” Isaac rocked back and forth on his heels where he was standing in the hallway.

“Isaac, why are you calling me at work?” Mr. Lahey’s tone went from professional to exasperated in a second. “What did you do?”

“Nothing, sir,” he replied earnestly. “I just wanted to ask you a question, i-if you’re not busy. Danny is my lab partner in Chemistry, and he, uh, wanted to know if I could come over tonight for dinner and studying. He said his mom will drop me off back at home around eight –”

“Daniel Mahealani?” his father cut in. Isaac panicked. Danny was something of a hot commodity in Beacon Hills, being out and proud with (literal) gay abandon. A handful of students told their parents about him and his coming-out in the locker room at tryouts.  IF Danny hadn’t been a fourteen-year-old boy and as sweet and friendly as he was, the uproar would have probably been more _of_ a roar.

“Yes, sir.”

“And his mother will drop you off? Is this going to be a thing?” Mr. Lahey pressed forward with his questions, making Isaac smile silently on the other end. All these clarifications meant he was definitely going to Danny’s. His dad was just testing him. “Will you be fed?”

“Mrs. Mahealani will feed me dinner and drop me back off at eight. Since Danny, uh… thinks I’m the best of the class, he wants me to help him out.” Isaac spoke patiently, not wanting to accidentally light a fuse. “Danny wants us to do this twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday.”

“Does Danny _really_ think you’re the best?” Mr. Lahey sounded skeptical.

“That’s what he told me,” Isaac replied simply. He tried to keep his tone neutral to avoid an argument. “It’s only for Chemistry, though. Just this one class.”

There was silence on the line for a good ten seconds, and the only way that Isaac knew his father was still on the line was the fact that he wasn’t getting Erica’s dial tone in his ear. Finally, Mr. Lahey spoke. “I expect this to go exactly as you are saying, Isaac Benjamin. There will be consequences otherwise. “ Isaac shuddered. Even over the phone, threats were threats and Isaac had heard enough of them to know that his father was serious.

“It will, sir,” Isaac said earnestly as he caught sight of Danny coming down the hallway towards the cafeteria. “I promise.”

“Don’t make checks your mouth can’t catch” was all Isaac heard before Danny sidled up next to him and he ended the call.

“Howdy, partner,” Danny said cheerily, hitching his backpack further up on his shoulders. “What’s the plan for tonight? You coming over?” Isaac nodded and smiled silently. “That’s great,” he replied, walking past him to the cafeteria door. “Jackson’ll walk with us – he got the Porche taken away until he gets _his_ Chemistry grade up.” Danny held the door open for both of them, letting Isaac go first. “Have you eaten yet?”

Isaac looked at Danny and contemplated lying before deciding it was better to just be honest. After all, even if Danny bought him lunch, that’s still a hot guy buying him lunch, right? And Danny was so nice, he might actually _do_ it… oh, what the heck.

“No, my dad forgot to give me my lunch money.” (Only half a lie.)

“Here, I’ll buy you lunch. My treat.” Danny patted Isaac’s shoulder. “You want pizza or a chicken sandwich? The spaghetti looks like _shit_ today.”

“Uh… the chicken sandwich. With fries.”

“And chocolate milk?”

“Yeah,” Isaac replied, getting into line with Danny before Danny shooed him away. “Uh –”

“I’ll get our lunches,” Danny answered without missing a beat. “You just sit with Jacks and Lydia and I’ll be there in a minute.” Danny leaned in and whispered in Isaac’s ear. “Don’t let them get to you – if they start going in on you, I mean. You’ll be _fine_.”

Isaac couldn’t decide what he loved more: the fact that Danny’s voice, low in his ear, was super hot, or Danny telling him that he would be fine. He felt his mouth open slightly like a fish waiting to get hooked before he could respond. “What about Erica?”

“Well, you gotta give her back her phone,” Danny said, gesturing down to the phone Isaac was holding loosely in the palm of his hand, Erica’s name on the tag on the keychain attached. “Then you can come sit with us.”

Isaac nodded again – he realized he was becoming a man of very few words – before heading out of line back to the “popular” table. He’d give Erica back her phone later.


	3. We Would've Seen You Two Years Ago, Had You Stuck Around

Isaac met Danny and the very-agitated Jackson outside the school by the school sign, the red and white of the lettering standing out against the greens and dark gold of the trees that surrounded the town and sometimes permeated the borders. (“Only when the town council wants them to,” Mr. Lahey was often quick to point out.) Even though he had a yellowing bruise on his forearm, Isaac decided to nix the blue hooded jacket he’d worn to school that morning if only because the injury wasn’t major.

“Is that Lahey?” Jackson called out when he saw Isaac approaching from the main hallway doors. “He’s not wearing long sleeves, I couldn’t tell!” Jackson and Danny chuckled while Isaac blushed and wondered if covering his body had become part of his character. Some niggling thought in the back of his mind made him wonder if other people found him weird – hopefully, Danny not included – and that was why Erica and, by extension of Erica, Boyd were the only two people in the school that actively sought out his company.

“Leave him alone, Jacks,” he heard Danny say as Isaac got closer and the two boys composed themselves. “Not everyone needs muscle shirts and tight jeans to feel whole.” Danny smirked as Jackson scowled at his best friend, not even pretending to brush the comment off. “Hey, Isaac. Glad you could make it.”

“Couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d like to be.” Isaac looked at the ground and used one shoe to brush a few stray blades of grass off of the other. “When are we going?”

“We were just waiting on you,” Danny said, turning to Isaac. “I don’t live too far. Jackson lives down the road.”

 “In a house with an indoor pool,” Jackson very unnecessarily put in.

“Right. Well, let’s get going.” The three of them began walking off campus out to the left side of town. Like a strange Venn diagram, Beacon Hills was unofficially split into the class system from left to right, rich to poor, with a main hub up the middle that contained the schools, downtown, and all the other things that constituted an established town.

As one would expect, Isaac lived on the right and very rarely strayed past the middle section. Danny, Jackson, and Lydia were very obviously and very firmly on the left side of town. Nice houses and cars with the occasional long driveway lined the streets and gave the area a pseudo-Hollywood feel.

“You can tell this isn’t where he’s used to,” Jackson remarked to Danny as if Isaac wasn’t there. “Other side of the tracks.”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Isaac heard himself firing back almost immediately, prompting a startled response from the other two. “I live on the right side of town, yeah.”

“And it’s perfectly fine,” Danny replied evenly. “I think he was just making a statement. You look more than a little culture-shocked is all.”

“Yeah,” Isaac said back, softening a little bit. “I don’t even have a backyard, much less cars like Porches and BMWs and Hummers on my block.” His dad had a ’99 Toyota that was on its last leg and made gas money a bitch to account for. On the other hand, though, it wasn’t like Isaac would even get a shot at owning it himself even if he _did_ want it.

“If it’s any consolation, I’ll have to get a job for my car.” Jackson looked almost sympathetic at Danny’s upper-middle-class plight. “Life’s not a Whittemore cakewalk for me either.”

Jackson scoffed. “Bite me, island boy.”

“Cultural appropriator,” Danny countered.

“Shithead SAT-word-user.”

“Dumbass non-SAT-word-user.”

Isaac wondered if this was the lifestyle of the Beacon Hills elite – a funny yet petty pissing contest.

– – –

Jackson left Danny and Isaac at the corner of Miller Road and Circular Way to head down his cul-de-sac and go home. As he and Danny walked away, Isaac noticed a woman standing at the door and went stock-still. He _knew_ Jackson’s mom – she was Mrs. W to him, the Beacon Hills Elementary School social worker.

How did he not realize that earlier?

Mrs. W – well, _now_ she was fully Mrs. Whittemore in his mind – had been his court and doctor-ordered psychologist in elementary school. She first was involved because of his mother’s death and the quote-unquote “immense emotional trauma” that led to his supposed self-harming at the tender age of nine. Mrs. Whittemore later found out that the source of Isaac’s injuries was not Isaac himself, but from getting shoved around at home.

Unfortunately, there was only so much that she could do in terms of social work. Isaac told her very bluntly that his brother Camden went with him anywhere, or he didn’t go at all. Out of fear of punishment, he refused to testify in court. Even though Mrs. Whittemore offered Isaac and Camden both a room at her house (and now Isaac knew how truly nice the house was) until she could get them a stable foster home, the situation stayed the same. Now that he’d seen her house and taken account of who her son was, Isaac regretted not taking her up on her offer. He would have been a left-sider, after all.

“And then there were two,” Danny said with a smile, getting closer to Isaac on the sidewalk. “Does the neighborhood still freak you out?”

“A little,” Isaac admitted, feeling more comfortable in the presence of Danny alone than with Jackson added on. “It’s just more spacious and… clean, I guess. Better landscaping.” Isaac blushed when he realized what he had said.

Danny chuckled. “Then I hope you won’t be _too_ unimpressed when I tell you that I mow the lawn myself.”

A sweaty Danny working hard – Isaac was _definitely_ okay with that image.

– – –

Danny’s house, like him, was perfect. The place wasn’t huge like Jackson’s, but was understated in a way where it was just spacious enough to belong on the side of town it was on. It had a very obvious pueblo-stucco kind of architecture going on, mixed oddly with the polyester flag hanging from a rod near the front door that had a cartoonish pineapple on it. And yes, the lawn was cut cleanly. Isaac couldn’t have done better himself.

Danny let himself in with a small smile to Isaac. Isaac smiled back nervously, anxious to see the inside of the beautiful house. If it was anything like the outside, the place was going to be warm, homey, and nice.

What Isaac didn’t expect was a five-year-old running at his legs as soon as the door was open. “Izzzzaaaaaay!” The little blur of bubblegum pink sacked him right in the kneecaps. He stumbled back, holding onto the doorjamb to steady himself. A little cherubic face peeked up at him, front teeth missing from the otherwise big and shiny smile. It took Isaac a second to realize that under the mop of rambunctious kindergarten hair was Danny’s little sister.

“Amy, get off his knees.” Danny bent over and pried the little girl off Isaac’s legs. Amy still seemed enamored with Isaac, blinking with wide, shiny eyes. “Isaac needs to come in.” Amy just nodded and snuggled more into Danny’s chest while Isaac got out of the doorway.

Isaac walked in and looked around. The house was just as nice as he had though. There was a sweet and salty smell to the place, and as he followed Danny to the kitchen, he found Mrs. Mahealani forming popcorn balls on the counter. “Hello, dear,” she said with a smile almost identical to her son’s. “I probably should have asked Danny if you liked popcorn balls before I started in on them.” She pushed a few stray wisps of hair out of her face. “But we had so much popcorn left after movie night that it needed to go somewhere.”

Amy reached a hand over from where Danny had put her on the counter, trying to grab one before it was fully set. Mrs. Mahealani popped her lightly on the wrist to shoo her hand away. “Wait a little longer, Amy.”

Amy pouted and scooted off the counter to go back to watching TV. Danny gave a little tug on her ear as she walked by.

“You two head upstairs and I’ll bring you both up popcorn balls,” Danny’s mom went back to shaping the snacks in her hands. “Plus to make sure that you’re actually working on what you said you were going to.”

Danny blushed a little bit, cheeks going ruddy and squeezing his face up at his mom. “We _are_ gonna go work on chemistry, Mom,” Danny replied insistently, hitching his backpack further up. It was taking all Isaac had to not start blushing too, feeling like he was being left out of the loop.

He followed Danny (who, in an act of revenge against his mother’s comment, had stolen some marshmallow fluff away on his index finger) up the stairs to the second-floor hallway. The idea of Danny sucking on his finger and leading him up to his bedroom was something straight out of one of Isaac’s fantasies, but it would probably be better for all parties involved if he kept that to himself.

As the tow of them headed down the hallway to Danny’s room, Isaac peered into the other rooms as they passed by. Amy’s room was a mish-mosh of interests, ranging from a random plastic rocket lying on the floor to pink and white covers on the bed. The master bedroom was nice and neat, with a big ornate headboard and matching side tables on either side of the bed. The walls of the hallways were decorated with frames upon frames of family pictures, enough to where it was almost nauseating.

“In here,” Danny said, still sucking on his finger. Isaac saw a hint of tongue as he walked past Danny into the room. It would be a complete lie if Isaac said he wasn’t a little bit turned on.

“Just drop your stuff on the floor near the bed,” Danny said with a shrug. “I don’t care if it’s a little messy in here.”

“Okay.” Isaac unceremoniously dropped his bag next to Danny’s bed, staring a little too hard as Danny laid down on the bed, digging underneath the covers. He sat back up victoriously a few seconds later, holding up a couple of pieces of Halloween candy that appeared to come from one of those mixed bags of candy and beaming. What puzzled Isaac was that it was about a week and a half before Halloween. The puzzlement must have been obvious on Isaac’s face, because Danny handed him a bite-sized Crunch bar.

“Stole it,” Danny explained. “Mom likes to be prepared and hide the stuff under the sink.” He ripped open the wrapper for his own chocolate and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. Isaac hesitantly did the same, averting his gaze to the bedspread.

“Good, huh?” Danny asked around a mouthful of chocolate. Isaac nodded and smiled with his mouth shut. He didn’t want any chocolate on his teeth to be seen. That would be _super_ humiliating.

The two boys sat in silence for a little more time, Isaac working the chocolate and rice mix around his mouth for so long that it almost tasted bitter between his teeth. Danny was the first to speak. “Do you like it here so far? My house, I mean.” He seemed genuinely interested in Isaac’s answer.

“Yeah,” Isaac replied, feeling a little unsure of his answer. He honestly didn’t know what to say. “It’s totally, uh…” _Don’t say rad. You already said totally._ “Rad.”

_Moron._

“Rad,” Danny repeated with a chuckle. “That’s very… retro of you.” Isaac turned a bright red and ducked his face away. “But I like it.”

Isaac looked back up. “You… like it?” he asked quietly. His dad tended to watch those old 80s sitcoms on TVLand and Nick@Nite when the TV was even on. _Family Matters_ was Isaac’s favorite, but Mr. Lahey preferred _Married With Children_ whenever it came on. Kind of ironic with the lazy dad show being his favorite. Isaac sat through it just because there was no room for arguing when the TV was on. Plus, sometimes there was popcorn – a silver lining for any situation at all. “It’s kinda corny.”

“Yeah, but it’s alright.” Danny got up from the bed to grab his desk chair and roll it over by Isaac. “So, what do you want to start on first?”


	4. I'm Not A Prophet, But I'm Here To Profit

Danny and Isaac worked from 4:00 to 6:15, focusing on alphas and betas and all those other weird rays. When Mrs. Mahealani came in around five o’clock with popcorn balls for the both of them, she was quick with a smile and a question about Camden. _How was his brother doing? Was he well?_ Isaac was confused at first as to how she knew him until he remembered that Cam had been a cashier at the local supermarket before he left. It seemed so long ago.

“He’s in the army now,” Isaac said as casually as he could muster. “Basic training.”

“Oh, _wow_ ,” Mrs. Mahealani replied. “I had no idea he would go into the military. I would have never guessed.”

“None of us really did,” Isaac admitted. “But he’s doing alright.” He picked a little kernel off the side of the popcorn ball, sucking the sweet marshmallow fluff off as soon as it hit his tongue.

“Well, that’s good,” Mrs. Mahealani said with a small smile, heading back to the door. “Dinner will be ready in a little bit, boys.” She closed the door behind her as Danny looked at Isaac. Isaac looked back, confused as to why Danny appeared so empathetic when there was really nothing for him to feel sorry about.

“What?” Isaac said, wrinkling his nose.

“You must feel kinda alone, don’t you?” Danny said quietly and gently, rolling forward in his chair and touching Isaac’s arm with great caution. “With your brother being gone and your mom, you know…”

“How do you know about my mom?” Isaac cut in, now even more confused and kind of hurt. He didn’t think people were gossiping about him or anything. That was the point in not getting involved in a bunch of extracurriculars. “I mean, not that I really _care_ or anything, but…” he trailed off, looking at Danny’s hand rubbing his forearm lightly.

“Jackson mentioned it when I was thinking about asking you to be my new lab partner. He was worried that because you’re kinda quiet and ‘cause of your mom and everything that you might not want to give Erica up. Abandonment issues and stuff.” The combination of Danny’s pitiful expression and the fact that _Jackson_ of all people was trying to look out for Isaac’s well-being made Isaac dissolve into peals of laughter. Danny didn’t find it nearly as funny. “What?”

“N-nothing,” Isaac said as he calmed himself down. “It’s just – it’s just that _Jackson_ worrying about my mental health, I mean... it’s hilarious. I never knew he cared so much.”

“Jackson’s more relatable than most people think,” Danny replied very matter-of-factly, and that made the other boy think. When everything was considered, Isaac had to admit that Jackson was generally a good guy.

(Sure, he was a little smart-mouthed and he occasionally pushed Stiles into lockers or chairs, but he never was really rude – at least not to Isaac, anyway. _In fact,_ Isaac mused, _me and Cam and Jackson would’ve kind of been brothers if I had said yes to Mrs. Whittemore’s offer._ )

“Yeah,” Isaac said. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

– – –

Dinner at the Mahealani house was just as wonderful as Isaac had expected. When Mr. Mahealani came home from work around 5:10 or so, he had immediately came upstairs to meet Isaac. It was obvious where Danny got his good looks from as soon as Isaac saw him, and Mr. M was nothing but polite to him as they talked. Isaac was mildly envious that Danny had such a great dad to bring his friends home to – but Danny had great everything anyway.

Dinner was grilled chicken with white rice and black beans, along with salsa and salad. Isaac ate everything that was on his plate and then some. He couldn’t remember when he’d had such a good meal at home, certainly not with his own family. Danny’s mom and dad seemed tickled pink by the way the curly-haired boy’s face lit up at the Hawaiian pastries named _malasadas_ that were like filled donuts with ground sugar on top. Both Isaac and Amy ate their _malasadas_ ravenously like it would be the last dessert they would ever have.

“You wanna bring a few home for your dad?” Mr. Mahealani asked.

Isaac shook his head no. Neither parent asked him why.

– – –

Danny and Isaac headed back up to Danny’s room for just another hour of studying before Mrs. Mahealani had to take Isaac home. Isaac was stuffed and sated from dinner, blissfully unaware of the way Danny was hesitating around him. Danny let him take the rolling chair this time, opting to sit on the bed.

“You’re so lucky; you get to eat like that _all the time_.”

“It’s just food,” Danny said with a shrug and a smile. “But I can tell that Mom was flattered that you enjoyed her cooking so much. Especially the _malasadas_.” Isaac blushed as Danny smiled wider. “I’ll have to make sure we have them on hand when you come over.”

“That would be nice,” Isaac replied as he rolled on the chair over to his backpack. “It’s definitely incentive for me to keep coming over here – fresh pastries.”

“What, I’m not incentive enough to come over?” Danny looked jokingly shocked, putting a hand to his chest while his open mouth pulled itself into a dimply smirk. Isaac took a shot in the metaphorical flirty dark and nodded, even managing something of a wink in response.

“I could use some… convincing, yeah. Just to make sure I’m making the right decision by being here.” He zipped up his backpack again and swiveled back around to face the bed, surprised when he saw Danny sitting up on the bed this time. “Uh…”

“Here, come here.” Danny beckoned him over with a hand. Isaac was surprised once more with himself that he listened, feet sliding over flooring carefully as he pulled himself in front of Danny on the bed. He felt a small tug of arousal when he realized that he had just been invited by Danny to be on his bed with him. “How much do I have to convince you?” Danny spoke softly, not registering anything happening when Isaac tensed up. “I’ve heard I’m pretty good at convincing people.”

Isaac turned a hot pink in the cheeks, mouth going slack as he stammered out a reply to the other boy. “I-I, uh… Danny…”

“Yeah?” Danny asked with a smile. He put a hand on Isaac’s upper arm, massaging the skin like before. “What’s up?”

Both boys didn’t even see it coming when Isaac opened and closed his mouth again ( _like a drowning fish,_ he’d think later) before closing his mouth over Danny’s lips, moving with Danny as he arched into the kiss. The kiss as a whole was rather sloppy and weird; a little dribble from Isaac’s lips had slipped down to his chin, and Isaac brushed it off absentmindedly while Danny happily reciprocated to the kiss that had be pressed upon him. Isaac’s heart fluttered in his chest like a bird in a cage begging to be set free. Danny kept his hand moving on Isaac’s arm until the kiss was broken by two sheepish grins.

“Did I convince you?” Danny said in all his dimply glory, making Isaac giggle and blush like a schoolgirl again. “That was actually really good, Isaac,” he continued, crossing his legs over each other on the covers. “Do you kiss guys often?”

 _Only the cute ones,_ Isaac answered in his head.

– – –

The two of them kissed a few more times (slowly, carefully with Danny letting Isaac take the lead) before Mrs. Mahealani came upstairs to take Isaac home. Danny seemed to like making Isaac blush, even grabbing Isaac’s hand of the side of the bed while he was getting his stuff together. The way his crush teasingly toyed around with his fingers made his stomach and head go all funny while Danny craned his head around to see if Isaac was any shade of red. (He blushed right back when he saw Isaac was.)

“Bye Izzaaaay!” Amy squealed Isaac’s way as he headed out the front door. She flung herself as his legs again until Isaac hugged her back.

“Bye Amy. I’ll see you soon, okay? Really soon.” He hugged the little girl tight, noticing Danny standing at the top of the stairs, smiling down at him.

Maybe he would get his happily-ever-after after all. He had a lot to tell Erica when he got home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! We made it to the end, kids!
> 
> I decided to shove all my notes at the end for the sake of keeping the reading fluid. Amy is taken from a RP that I (and my lovely friend Charlotte playing Danny, giving her that name) am a part of. I actually think Stiles would Stiles-ize (get it) his name with a dollar-sign. He's very into Ke$ha.
> 
> Malasadas are real and look like [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leonard%27s_malasadas.jpg).
> 
> They can be filled like in this story, or they can be plain with different outer coatings. I assume Danny's family would have them sweet like jelly on the inside, like them. (:


End file.
